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Kings' trade for Marco Sturm is official

December 14, 2010 | 3:00
pm

The Kings’ acquisition of left wing Marco Sturm from Boston became final Tuesday after Sturm passed a battery of tests on his surgically repaired knees in Los Angeles.

The deal had been agreed to Saturday but was contingent on Sturm being physically able to play. The German-born winger, who has yet to play this season while recovering from surgery on his right knee, was due to catch a flight from Los Angeles to St. Louis Tuesday night and practice with his new teammates Wednesday at the Scottrade Center.

The Kings agreed to give up future considerations, which are likely to amount to merely picking up a prorated portion of the final season of his four-year, $14-million contract. Sturm, a seven-time 20-goal scorer, became a victim of the Bruins’ salary-cap squeeze and agreed to waive his no-trade clause to join the Kings. He will be reunited with Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi, who was the Sharks’ general manager in 1996 and chose Sturm 21st overall in the entry draft.

“I feel great. It was a long two weeks for me. Everything was up in the air and back and forth a little bit,” he said in an audio clip furnished by the Kings.

“I’m really excited to be an L.A. King now. I’m just going to give my best and take it to the next level.”

Sturm is unlikely to crack the lineup for a little while. Coach Terry Murray said after Monday’s 5-0 victory at Detroit that he wanted to see Sturm for himself and would likely have Sturm practice and do extra work before getting him into a game.

Sturm is eager for the chance. “I know it’s going to be hard,” he said. “I’m just going to try and find my game back as soon as possible.”